I'm okay
by FangirlHypeXx
Summary: Gabriella is back in Albuquerque and staying at Chad 's, her best friend's, house after living in New York for four years. She meets Troy Bolton, captain of the East High Wildcats, and she begins to see the real guy inside of him instead of the well known basketball champion. But what will happen when people from her past pop up.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi, so I am new to posting on fanfiction and I am quite excited to here if you liked it or not. I just had this idea and it was going to be a one shot but I thought that I may as well try this! Anyway, all reviews are welcome so please tell me if you liked it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

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Gabriella Montez stepped out of the taxi and looked at the house before her, it looked exactly the same as it did four years before.

She prepared herself for what was to come, 'c'mon Gabby, you have faced so much stuff in the last year, you can handle being back here,' she muttered as somebody tapped on her shoulder. As she jumped a voice said, 'you know that talking to yourself is the first sign of crazy,' she smiled and jumped into his arms. 'You would know, Danforth,' he picked up her bags and they walked towards the door. 'I see you haven't grown,' he laughed and she rolls her eyes. 'I'm not that short, I'm just not freakishly tall like you!' This time he rolled his eyes, Gabriella loved how easy it was to fall back into their friendship, they had known each other since birth and were best friends until Gabriella moved away four years ago.

Chad knocked on the door to his house having forgot his keys again, a middle aged woman open the door, she was wearing an apron and covered in flour. Chad burst into a fit of laughter, 'what happened ma?' She shook her head and stared at Gabriella. 'Gabby! You're here, I wasn't sure if you would show but I am so glad you did,' Gabriella pounced into Karen's open arms and hugged her. Even though they weren't blood related, they were still family. Sometimes, they were closer than Chad and Gabriella.

After 10 minutes Gabriella escape to her new room which was already designed to her taste. It had been arranged that she would live in Albuquerque time and time again but every time Gabriella had bailed so Karen left the room ready just in case she ever decided to come because Gabriella was like the daughter Karen never had.

Even though Gabriella's room was designed to her taste, it still didn't have any of her belongings which would be arriving on Tuesday which was 3 days away.

Gabriella looked around her room and appreciated how beautiful it was. Her room was light pink and in the middle was a large canopy bed with simple bed sheets, there was also a vanity table which faced. The room had a white sofa in it and a book shelf, also words such as love and hope decorated the walls. Another bonus to her room was that it had a balcony with a tree next to it which looked sturdy enough to hold her weight.

As she looked around her room she heard a loud rustling sound and she quickly looked towards the balcony, grabbing the closest thing that was near her which happened to be a trophy she had won from school competitions. The door opened and in stepped a tall and handsome teen who looked about her age. She threw the trophy but it only hit his arm and he stared at her. 'Who are you?' He asked as he picked up the trophy. 'I live here, who are you?' She folded her arms in an attempt to seem more confident which was something she had learnt in New York.

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Troy Bolton watched the petite female as she folded her arms, he had no clue as to who she was and was wondering why she was in the Danforth's house. He didn't know what it was but there was something intriguing about her and he couldn't wait to find out what that was.

'I asked you first, if you don't answer me then I will scream!' He rolled his eyes. 'You're bluffing, you do not live here. I have been here a lot of times because Chad is my best friend and I have never seen you before,' he said matter-of-factly. He crossed his arms as well until Chad burst in a minute later. 'What did I hear, are you okay?' Immediately, Troy answered, 'yeah dude, I'm fine,' he looked up and saw Chad staring at Gabriella and awkwardly stood there, realising the question wasn't directed towards him.

'I'm okay, but it seems as if one of your friends has stopped by,' she pointed at Troy and Chad stared at him, surprised. 'What are you doing here, Troy?' Troy scratched his neck, 'well I came because I thought that you were grounded so I was coming to hangout like the great friend I am, it was clear that I couldn't come through the front door so I came through here,' he explained and Chad laughed. 'Thanks man, anyway, I see you have met Gabby,' Troy smiled, 'yes. I have met her but I don't understand why she is here,' he stepped forward and looked at Chad.

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Chad didn't know what to say, clearly she wasn't going to speak so he didn't know what he should or shouldn't say, usually it was pretty obvious like when a girl looked fat in her dress, you weren't supposed to tell her, you had to tell her that she looked beautiful. He had learned this the hard way with his ex girlfriend, Amy Jeffries. 'Gabriella is my best friend and she will be living here for a while,' Chad looked at Gabriella for any signs of anger and he was relieved that he couldn't find any. 'Thank you Mr. Vague, and wait, did you say best friend! I have never even heard about her before!' I feel like I have been cheated on,' Chad rolled his eyes at Troy and watched Gabriella knit her eyebrows together at his act. 'I think I need to sit down!' Troy clutched his heart and she smiled.

Quickly, Chad grabbed Troy and pulled him out of the room as he saw what was happening. 'Dude, I am begging you, do not date Gabriella, she is like a sister and you are a player, no offense,' Chad looked at Troy, 'it will get really awkward if you do and I will not take your side!' He warned him and Troy nodded. 'I get it, don't worry,' Troy laughed and they walked to Chad 's room stealthily, thanking God that his mother hasn't heard.

Gabriella rested her head against her pillow and pulled out her iPod, she put it on shuffle and closed her eyes, listening to the soft music. She thought about her new life here and she was glad that she was back with her best friend, even if she had to be in this particular city.

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**So there you go! I hope you liked the beginning to this story,I didn't want to put anything to serious for the first chapter so I decided on this. Next chapter I will introduce the gang... Bye x**


	2. Chapter 2: Speechless

**Hi guys, thanks for reading my first chapter and I am sorry if you were waiting for this. I had to make some important decisions last month about my future and now it is scaring me. Anyway, happy bonfire night x**

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of the characters**

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The rest of the weekend had gone to fast for Gabriella and today was the day she would have to face East High. Nerves shook her body as she stood in front of the mirror, Gabriella was not good with strangers and that is why she didn't like change.

There was a knock at her door and when Gabriella said come in, Karen walked through the door, 'Darling, you look absolutely gorgeous!' Karen exclaimed and Gabriella smiled thanks. 'Are you nervous?' Karen say on the bed and Gabriella joined her, 'yes, I don't know what to do, I'm freaking out. What should I do Karen?' Gabriella turned to her for advice and Karen sighed, 'I think that you should just think about what makes you happy, who you feel most comfortable around and just try and block everything else out. It used to help me,' Karen put a hand on her shoulder and she smiled, 'Thank you,'

Slowly, she walked out the door, looking back for reassurance, she received an encouraging nod, then Gabriella left to find Chad who was stood outside. 'What took you so long?' He asked and she replied, 'I had to get ready.' He shook a his head and muttered something about not understanding girls.

'Why are we just standing here?' Gabriella questioned after they had been standing there for a couple of minutes. 'Because, young one, I am saving up for a car, I haven't got one,' this confused her as she waited. 'So how are we getting to school then?' He looked down at his shoes, 'my girlfriend is picking us up,' Gabriella tried to stifle her laughs as he scratched his neck. 'Man, must hurt your pride,' he groaned as a red convertible pulled up, 'it doesn't help that she had a really nice car,' she laughed and greeted Taylor. 'Hi, I'm Gabriella, you must be Taylor, I have heard so much about you,' she still out her hand and smiled sincerely. 'Hi, I'm so glad to meet you, Chad told me about you too,' they instantly clicked and became friends, leaving Chad to sit in the back seat as Taylor and Gabriella sang along to a song.

_We, we don't have to worry 'bout nothing_  
_'Cause we got the fire, and we're burning one hell of a something_  
_They, they gonna see us from outer space (outer space)_  
_Light it up, like we're the stars of the human race (human race)_

They laughed and jumped out of the car as they pulled up, 'you have an amazing voice Gabriella,' She smiled, 'So do you! And you can call me Gabby,' shortly after, Gabriella headed towards the office to collect her timetable. 'Hey,' Gabriella jumped and spun around. 'You scared me!' He laughed and she looked up at his blue eyes. 'Yeah, and so did this video that Chad sent me.' Horrified, Gabriella started at the video of Taylor and her singing. 'Oh my God! I can't believe he did that,' she put her hands to her ears and closed her eyes, 'I can't watch it.'

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Troy looked down at the petite brunette as her face turned bright red. Without thinking, he pulled her hands down from her face and lifted her chin as her chocolate brown eyes opened, he still latched onto one of her hands. 'Your voice is beautiful, I have never heard a voice so angelic.' She turned her head away and he moved it back, 'I wouldn't lie,' she looked into his eyes but pulled away as somebody entered the room. She walked to the desk and he muttered to himself, 'Fuck, Chad asked me to do one thing,' he signed and turned to leave.

Troy collided with Taylor as he walked out, she pulled to him to the side. 'Troy Alex Bolton, what the hell are you playing at? I saw that, and I also know that Chad told you not to go there. Does she know that you won't get serious? Does she know that you are going against her best friend's wishes?' She accused him and he put up his hands in defence. 'How do you know that I don't get serious?' He crossed his arms. She scoffed, 'please, Troy Bolton has never gone steady in his life,' he scowled. 'Just don't tell Chad, I'm begging. He clasped his hands together, she rolled her eyes.

With Taylor knowing about what Troy did, he knew that it wasn't safe to be going after Gabriella so he had to find a way tho make sure it didn't happen again. That was why he had been walking around with Tamara Elliott all day. 'So does this mean we're back on,' she asked in a seductive way. 'We'll see,' he said distracted. She rolled her eyes and noticed Troy call somebody over.

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Gabriella whipped her head around, as she heard her name being called. She walked to the Troy as she noticed his arm around a tall blonde. 'Hi, I'm Gabriella,' she said to the girl. 'I'm Tamara,' she rested her hand on Troy's chest and Gabriella felt a pang of jealousy. 'She's my Fuck Buddy,' he whispered and Gabriella felt overwhelmed by surprise and hurt. 'It's nice to meet you, look I've gotta run, okay,' hurriedly, she left as she felt pain course through her veins.

As she walked away, she a thwack, and turned to see Troy sporting a red cheek.

Just as she was turning the corner, she bumped into Chad who was holding a basketball under his arm, 'Hey, I'm heading to lunch, what have you got?' She looked down at her timetable, 'I've got lunch as well but I will meet you there, I've got to go and do something,' she walked away and pulled out her phone.

_Ring ring_

_Beginning of call_

Gabriella: hi, have you got time to talk?  
_Karen: sure, tell me what's on your mind_  
Gabriella: has he called?  
_Karen: I'm sorry sweetie, but no_  
Gabriella: it's okay, I was just wondering but...  
_Karen: we could call-_  
Gabriella: no, we can't because he has to realize what has happened, I want him to figure it out.  
_Karen: oh babe, are you sure, what if-_  
Gabriella: no, it's fine, he will call  
_Karen: if that's what you want_  
Gabriella: I've got to go Karen, I'll see you later  
_Karen: bye hun._

_End of call_

She wiped away the threatening tears and walked to the courtyard. She looked for Chad, wishing that they had arranged a meeting point. She finally noticed him at a crowded table and walked towards it. Chad saw her and stood up, 'everybody, this is Gabriella, she is my best friend,' he stood proudly as they noticed her. 'Gab, this is Jason, Kelsi, Sharpay, Zeke and you have already met Taylor and Troy,' she waved shyly and they fell into an easy conversation.

'So Gabriella, where are you from?' Sharpay asked. 'Well... I was born here but I moved to New York when I was 13.' Sharpay nodded. 'Why did you move and then come back?' Jason said and turned to Chad, 'Why are you shaking you head, do you need a doctor?' Chad sighed and Gabriella turned to Chad. 'It's fine, it's a fair question,' he looked at her concerned, 'Brie, you don't have to say it,' she whispered back to him, 'I do Chad, it's not like they won't find out later,' he sighed, 'but that doesn't mean you have to tell them everything, I mean I lie to mom even though I know she will find out,' she tutted at him, 'you shouldn't lie to Karen,' he shook his head, 'that wasn't the point of the story,' she sighed and turned back to the gang who had been listening to their mini argument. 'Well my mom died from a brain tumour when I was 13 so my dad and I moved to New York but I came back because New York is big and exciting but it isn't home,' silence fell among the group and Chad turned to her, 'this is why I told you that you didn't need to say it,'

As Gabriella went to the car, Troy rushed over to her, 'I didn't know about your mom, I'm sorry,' she stopped walking and turned to him, 'that's because you don't know me Troy, we met like 3 days ago and as for the 'I'm sorry' part, I don't need your pity, so leave me alone,' he grabbed her arm, 'I know that your hurting and I don't pity you, you're too strong for that,' she lost herself in his blue eyes until she pulled away and ran off, leaving him speechless.

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**There you go, I hope you liked it and please tell me if you did or if you didn't because it will help me develop my skills.**

**Enjoy bonfire night and all the fireworks etc.**

**Please review,**

**FangirlHypeXx**


	3. Sneaking Out

**Hi guys, I forgot to say that I have put up Gabriella's outfit from the last chapter (her outfit for school) on my profile and I am going to put her outfit from this chapter up too.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of the characters**

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Gabriella sat in her room and typed on her laptop, she tried not to think about Troy or the gang and cursed herself for creating drama when she had only been in town for a few days.

Having got bored, she got up and looked around her room, flicking through some of her books. She did this until she heard a faint knock at the door, 'Ella,' she heard Chad his and opened the door. 'What's up Chad?' She said and he clamped a hand over her mouth and pushed her inside. 'Be quiet,' he whispered and she knitted her eyebrows together, 'Why?' He looked at her and whispered back, 'Becaaausse,' he said, dragging out the word, 'we are sneaking out,' she turned around and sat on her bed, 'no, I can't,' he rolled his eyes at her, 'Gab, you are coming. My mom won't know that we went to the party,' she shook her head, 'I am not taking no for an answer,' he crossed his arms whilst she opened her laptop stubbornly. 'No,' he sighed and pulled out his phone, 'Fine, explain that to Sharpay,' she rolled her eyes at him, 'Sharpay won't care, I only met her earlier,' he dialled her number, 'oh but she will,' he pressed call and put it on speaker, 'Hey Shar, Gabriella is here, she wants to tell you something,' he passed her the phone and she glared, 'Hi Sharpay, I just wanted to say that I can't make it to your party,' Immediately, Sharpay screamed, 'What do you mean, Gabriella you have to come. You can get to know some people and besides you can't miss my party,' she kept and moaning and Gabriella sighed after five minutes of he talking, ' Fine, I will be there,' she squealed and hung up as Chad grinned.

40 minutes later, Gabriella was ready after showering and picking out an outfit to wear, she wore a beautiful red skirt that was half see through and a pattern white top part and accessories. She hid her outfit behind her coat and went into Chad's room after knocking. 'Finally,' he moaned and she rolled her eyes, 'I still don't understand why there is a party on Monday,' he pulled her towards the door, 'it's to celebrate the fact that we got through the first day of the week,' she rolled her eyes, 'I barely got through it and that doesn't even make sense, wouldn't you guys rather have the party on Friday,' he opened the door and shrugged, 'Well it is Sharpay,' they walked to the kitchen. 'Hey mum, Gabriella and I are going to Sharpay's house, we agree all meeting up to have a huge cram session before tomorrows test,' he smiled,' she looked at her watch, 'it's nearly eight o'clock, should you really be going out?' He sighed, 'please ma, I'm freaking out about this test and I need their help, we can stay at the Evan's house if you want,' she put a hand through her hair, 'Fine, but I want you to sleep here, you still have school tomorrow, oh and where are your bags?' She noticed and Gabriella put a hand through her loose curls, 'oh they're in the hall,' Chad grinned.

After leaving their coats in the car, they walked into the Evan's large house which was crowded with people, Chad went over to say hello to somebody as Gabriella went to find Taylor and Sharpay. 'I'm so glad you came,' Sharpay squealed and smiled, 'I love your outfit!' Taylor complimented and Gabriella smiled, 'I love your shoes.' Sharpay stood up, 'I need a drink, do you guys want one?' She asked and Taylor accepted whilst Gabriella said, 'no thanks, I don't drink,' Sharpay nodded and walked off, 'Why not?' Taylor asked. 'I might just tell you why someday,' Gabriella replied vaguely and Taylor nodded, respecting her privacy.

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Troy looked around the packed room and took a sip of his beer, he wasn't really a fan of it but he still drank it, mostly because otherwise the guys would say something. So he stood and talked to a girl who said she was called Marissa or Maya , he had forgot her name. '...I eventually found this dress after looking for hours and then everything was fine,' he had not been paying attention to the conversation because he was too caught up thinking about Gabriella, he hated that he had hurt her and was waiting to make it up to her.

Just then, he saw Gabriella and gasped at her beauty, he quickly excused himself from the conversation and walked towards Gabriella, 'Hey,' he smiled at Taylor and Gabriella. 'Tay, can I borrow Gabriella for a minute?' He put his hands in his pockets when Gabriella turned to him, 'No,' she turned around and walked off leaving Troy with Taylor, 'You're an ass, Troy,' she turned and walked away as he stood there, his mouth hanging open.

Without thinking, he found Gabriella and pulled her outside, ignoring her cries of protest. 'We need to talk,' he said as she put her hands on her hips. 'Fine, but not here,' she said and they walked off towards the beach. They sat down on the bed of sand and stared out at the vast sea. 'What do you want Troy, because I'm getting tired of whatever this is,' she motioned between them and he nodded. 'Just let me explain...' he took a deep breath and looked at her, ' Ever since I first met you, I instantly liked you but I didn't know what to do. I mean, nobody thinks that I will ever date anybody because I am too much of a player so I told you about Tamara because I thought that if I got into a real relationship then I would just mess everything up. But today I realized that I want to try it, because I want this,' she smiled at him and put a hand on the side of his face, 'I want this too,' he leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on her awaiting lips and she smiled.

* * *

Gabriella smiled at what had happened between Troy and her but immediately became worried, 'Troy, are you sure you want to do this, I have a lot of baggage.' She began to worry and he looked at her, 'Brie, of course I want to do this. Nothing could make me happier.' She leaned into his shoulder and they just sat there, watching the waves crash onto the beach.

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**There you go, please let me know if you liked or didn't like it because it helps me know what to write.**

**Thank you for those who reviewed last time because it helped a lot. **

**As I said you can check out the outfits on my profile.**


	4. Chapter 4: Rage

**Hi, I didn't update last week because I had a lot going on with charity events and so I didn't have time to write anything. I hope you like this, I put a bit of drama in to keep you entertained.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of the characters**

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The next morning, Gabriella woke under a heap of sheets and the beeping of her alarm, she smiled to herself and got up.

Sluggishly, she walked towards the bathroom and prepared for the day, as she walked out she bumped into Chad. 'I still don't understand why you have parties on Mondays, I am so tired' he rolled his eyes at her, 'I don't know why we do it but who cares, just embrace it,'

As she walked into school alongside Chad and Taylor she saw Troy running towards them. She smiled as he gulped in air, 'dude, we need to talk,' he grabbed Chad without even a second glance at Gabriella and dragged him away. Immediately, Taylor turned to her, 'you're hiding something and I have a feeling that it has to do with a certain blue eyed basketball player who happens to be a huge player. Gabriella's eyes widened as she stared at Taylor's knowing expression. 'What?' She tried and failed to play it cool as Taylor put a hand on her hip. 'What's going on with you and 14? And this time, try not to lie,' Gabriella sighed, 'fine, Troy and I are kinda sorta a couple, I think,' she cocked her head to the sighed as she remembered Troy's lack of acknowledgement towards her. 'Well Chad is going to kinda sorta punch Troy in the face if this isn't a joke,' Gabriella stared at Taylor , alarmed, 'What do you mean?' She ran a hand through her hair. 'You don't know? Chad told Troy not to make a move, he practically begged him.' Gabriella stood shocked and annoyed at Chad and ran towards where she had seen them go with Taylor shortly behind her.

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Troy had ended up dragging Chad around one of the corners. 'Okay, so there is no easy way to tell you this so I am just going to say it, yeah... I'll just rip it off like a plaster,' Chad watched Troy freak out and grabbed his shoulders. 'Calm down man, just say it.' Troy nodded. 'Right, so it all started when I met her, I immediately liked her and not. In just a hot way but in a beautiful way and it kind of scared me and I remember what you said so I called up Tamara. But then she told us that story and it hurt me and I tried to make it up to her so at the party I pulled her aside and we really hit it off and now we are sort of together but I'm not sure because I just blanked her,' Troy spoke incredibly fast which made Chad's head spin. 'Who?' Chad whispered even though he already knew. When Troy didn't answer Chad's anger increased. 'Dammit Troy WHO?!' He screamed and Troy stared at him. 'Gabriella,' he whispered and Chad closed his eyes. Without thinking, he punched him in thee jaw and watched as Troy stumbled back. 'Dude, I am so sorry,' Troy true to apologize. 'No, we're aren't dudes, we're not friends and we're are definitely not brothers. I asked you for one thing. One thing Troy! But you betrayed me.'

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Gabriella spent the rest if the day listening to the twisted rumours that were spreading over the school. At one point she turned around to see none other than Tamara in tears as she talked a load of shit. 'He had to go to the hospital, I was so worried and they wouldn't even let me in. They didn't even care that we were in love, they didn't even care that Troy and I were together, they probably just thought that it was just a high school romance. But everybody knows that isn't true, we were talking about our futures, how we would get married and have three children: Ellie, Jake and James. He was going to be a basketball star and I was going to be a fashion designer. Now we might not get that,' she stood in a pool of tears as Gabriella turned around, highly irritated. 'He isn't dead, and he didn't have to go to hospital, he just went to the nurses. Also, you and Troy were just fuck buddies.' Tamara stared at her, 'Bitch please, you're just jealous of what we have.' Gabriella sighed and walked away but not before she walked into Troy.

'Hey, are you alright?' She asked and her voice softened. 'I'm fine, it was just a punch,' he said annoyed. She took a step back and he noticed, 'sorry, I just keep hearing all these rumours and Chad won't speak to me and-' she cut him off as she surprised him with a kiss. After a minute they pulled away and she pulled him back into a hug. 'You guys are really stressing me out,' he pulled back a little, 'I know, I'm sorry baby, this is all my fault.' She pecked him on the cheek. 'No, it isn't, Chad will get over it.'

After school Taylor dropped Chad and Gabriella home. 'Thanks Tay, I'll see you later,' she hopped out of the car and burst into the house. Karen kindly greeted them and for a few hours Gabriella escaped into her room.

Dinner was a quiet affair with only Karen trying desperately hard for a conversation. 'Gabby, would you like some carrots?' Karen offered, 'I don't know. Chad am I allowed to have carrots?' She asked, obviously still seething from earlier. 'What?' He raised his eyebrows oblivious to Gabriella's annoyance. 'Well you seem to think that you make decisions for me,' Chad ran a hand through his bouncy curls. Karen stood up, 'that is it! You two, get in the living room now, we are going to sort this out like adults.

The three of them sat in the living room, 'Gab, why do you think that Chad is making your decisions?' Karen stared at Gabriella kindly, 'he does, he made me go to that party I didn't want to go to, he thinks that he gets to decide who I can and can't date and he treats me like a child.' Gabriella put her hands on her face, 'you went to a party?' Karen questioned. 'Please ma, you totally knew what we were doing.' Karen nodded. 'I know, I thought that Ella wanted to go,' she scratched the back of her neck and looked at the two teens. 'Cha do you want to say something?' Chad stood up and sat next to Gabriella, 'Gab, I realize now that I forced you into going to that party but I have heard that you found something good there. I am so sorry it I know how Troy is and I didn't think that you need that on your plate right now do I took matters into my own hands even though I shouldn't have so Gabby I am truly sorry for that but I am not sorry for caring about you because you are my sister or just as good as anyway,' she watched him get up and leave and put a hand up to stop the incoming lecture. 'I will forgive him when he apologizes and forgives Troy.' Karen nodded and hugged Gabriella. 'Are you okay, darling?' Karen whispered. 'No,' Gabriella dug her face deeper into Karen's neck as a tear rolled down her cheek.

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**I know that it was short but I hope you enjoyed it.**

**As ever please review because it helps me incredibly, I need to know the good and the bad so feel free to voice your opinion! :)**


	5. Chapter 5:Suprise

**Hi, it has been about three weeks and I am sorry x**

**It is nearly Christmas so that has been keeping me busy and i have been writing essays and completing tests and I'm really sorry.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of the characters**

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The next day, Gabriella walked into the school with Taylor and Sharpay as Chad had gone to talk to coach. They walked together to Gabriella's locker whilst talking amongst themselves. 'Chad will get over it, he is already softening now but he is too stubborn to admit it.' Taylor reassured Gabriella. 'Really?' She said hopefully. 'No' Sharpay replied, dashing her hope. 'Sharpay?' Taylor whined and playfully pushed her. 'What? There is no point in raising her hopes if they are just going to be shattered by Chad,' Gabriella rolled her eyes but under her mask she was terrified and didn't know what to do. 'Hey guys, I'm going to find Troy,' they nodded and she ran off.

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Gabriella dragged him into Mr York's classroom and day on a desk. 'Troy, we need to talk,' he knew what she was going to say and so he did the only thing that he could, 'Gabby, this is killing you, you hate fighting with Chad, I can see the pain in your eyes. For now, I think that we should take some time apart, you need you friend,' He hugged her but she pulled away. 'Goodbye Troy,' she left before a tear would escape but as soon as she found herself in the girls room her body was racked with sobs.

After a few minutes her sobs died down and she ran out of the girls room and to the house. She didn't stop running for twenty minutes and only paused to get out her keys. She ran in to the kitchen in search of the house phone and found Karen at the table, sitting across from her father.

She quickly wiped away her tears and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. 'Dad, you came?' He stood up and fully looked at her and she froze. She noticed that he was wearing a suit and a briefcase was sitting on the table. He was clean shaved and looked like any regular business man from the city. 'Hello Gabriella,' he said it so formerly that you wouldn't have thought that they were father and daughter. She immediately felt rage run through her, 'I'm going for a walk,' she left without another word and grabbed her coat.

There was nowhere to go, she couldn't face Troy at school and she couldn't bare to be at the house.

Gabriella walked down to the beach which took a lot longer than expected and texted Chad.

I need to talk to you. I'm so sorry, please meet me at the beach.

-G

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After reading the text Chad stood up even though he was in home room and left. He didn't seem to notice that Jason was calling his name and Troy was staring worriedly he didn't even notice that Ms. Darbus was threatening a detention, the one thing that was consuming his mind was that his best friend need him.

He rushed to the beach and looked around for the brunette. Chad found her sitting on the bed of gold and writing in a book.

As he got closer he noticed her red eyes and tear stained cheeks. 'What's wrong, Ella?' He turned into the overprotective brother mode and put an arm around her shoulder. 'Carl's back,' she sniffles. 'What? Carl as in your father?' She nodded her head and he creased his eyebrows in confusion. 'I thought that was what you wanted. You kept asking mom if he called and now he is finally here, I don't understand.' She sat upright, 'Ever since mom died, he drank almost every night, he relied on Mom's will for money and forgot about me. All I wanted was for him to notice that I wasn't there, I wanted him to remember me but now he is here and he looks good, like he just chose to forget me and he is alright. He left me.' Her voice cracked and he wiped her tear away. 'To make it worse Troy and I broke up.' Her voice was thick with sadness and he held her tighter. 'I'm sorry I did that to you.' She shook her head. 'I understand,'

After sitting for five minutes in silence Chad said, 'Gab, you lost your mom and that sucks but do you really want to lose your dad as well? I think that you should talk to him,' Chad stood up and held out a hand for Gabriella. Reluctantly, she took it and they walked away.

'What do I say to him?' Gabriella began to freak out. 'C'mon, he is your father, just take a deep breath and say 'Hi Dad' and then the rest will flow,' he massaged we shoulders as they walked and then they arrived.

Carl opened the door and saw the pair standing there, Gabriella took a big breath and smiled weakly, 'Hi Dad,' he quickly enveloped her into his arms, 'Hello my darling, I am so sorry, I love you so much,' he whispered the words into her ear as happy tears silently fell from her eyes.

* * *

Troy sat in the classroom, unaware of what lesson he was in and mentally slapped himself. Even though he knew that this was the best thing for her, all he wanted in that moment was to hold her in his arms.

Apart of him was doing this because even though he knew that Chad was just being protective, he thought that Chad was right. Troy knew that he wasn't ever going to be good enough for Gabriella, she needed somebody who would be strong enough to carry her when times weren't easy and Troy doubted that he was capable of that.

Troy sat and watched the clock, he was in last lesson and he realized that he had not seen Chad or Gabriella all day. He also missed his best friend, Chad and him were as close as brothers and although Troy never told him, it hurt his feelings when Gabriella came because Chad had been withholding a huge part of his life. He wasn't jealous of their relationship but he was upset that Chad had lied.

He get this way because he knew that Chad didn't trust Troy. He had good reason but it hurt Troy. It hurt him more because he knew that it was true.

Troy Bolton was not good enough for Gabriella Montez.

* * *

**So that's it, I apologize for the shortness but I wanted to leave it like that. Do you all hate me?**

**Please tell me what you think in the reviews as it helps me a lot.**

**Also, let me know what you think of Carl and let me know what you think will happen.**

**On another note, I was just wondering if any of you guys have read the Divergent series, I read it a few years ago and it has been my favourite set of books ever since!**

**Please review to let me know if you have read it xx**


	6. High Emotions

Hi guys, merry Christmas x

I hope you enjoy this and I hope you had a great day

Disclaimer: I do own High School Musical or any of the characters, I also do not own any brands or film titles or music used

* * *

It had been a week since Carl had arrived in Albuquerque but to Gabriella it felt like a few hours. She had been so happy to have him back and was constantly happy whenever she was in his presence. Unfortunately, this led to her being worried and frightened all the time as she was absolutely terrified of losing him. In town, this also led to her having a total of eight hours of rest in the last seven days.

However, her father may not be the only reason for her insomnia as she was still thinking about a certain blue eyed monster. She had not gotten over Troy despite her best efforts and it was killing her. It was also ironically depressing that she was stuck in a small building with him for seven hours a day and that they shared the same group of friends.

As the girls walked through the corridors to lunch Gabriella was completely unaware that Sharpay had been calling her name for four minutes straight. 'Oh sorry, what were you saying?' Sharpay halted in front of the cafeteria. 'Are you okay, Gab?' Gabriella forced a smile and nodded, 'I'm fine, I guess my mind was just preoccupied.' she tried to explain. 'Yeah, and it may be because you are utterly exhausted,' Sharpay turned Gabriella's head from side to side with her hand. 'You have really big bags under your eyes, have you been sleeping at all?' Gabriella stealthily released herself from Sharpay's grasp. 'I'm fine,' she tried to reassure the two girls who were staring. After a minute Taylor said, 'whatever you say,' and they continued to walk.

After they had gotten their lunch, the the made their way over to the table where the boys were sitting. Only yesterday had Chad and Troy made up and now they were acting as if nothing had happened, just like everybody else. Although, they were going it to get rid of the awkwardness.

Ten minutes later, Sharpay stood up and demanded the attention of everybody at the table, 'Taylor and I have been thinking,' this was followed by an, 'oh joy,' by Chad and Zeke who received a scowl each from their girlfriends. 'Anyway, we have been thinking and we have decided that we will have a small party at my house on Friday, it will be a sleep over followed by a pool party the next day,' she then turned to Gabriella, 'attendance is mandatory.'

Gabriella quickly shook her head in refusal, 'you know I would love to,' she lied, 'but I just got dad back and I want to hang out with him,' Gabriella smiled until Chad butted in, 'please, Carl will be fine without you for a day,' Gabriella cursed him inside. She still refused until she realized that there was no point, Sharpay would eventually force her to go, 'Fine.'

The rest of the day passed quickly after that and soon enough it was time to go home. Gabriella rushed to the car with Chad and Taylor in tow and when they arrived she quickly rushed out of the house and stuffed her key into the hole. Gabriella had been acting as if it was Christmas everyday and she was receiving the best present ever, her dad. 'Hi,' she hugged her father and Karen who were sitting at the table like every day.

'Hi darling,' they greeted her. Gabriella sat at the table, 'errm, can I go to Sharpay's on Friday all of us are having a sleep over, Chad is invited too.' She asked, secretly hoping for a no. Carl turned to Karen and waited for an answer, 'I say yes, but only because I know Sharpay,' Karen then turned to Carl, 'I trust your decision,' Gabriella forced a smile and went upstairs to put her things away.

Unfortunately, the week passed by extremely fast and soon enough it was Friday. It had taken the girls two days to shop for swimwear even though Sharpay had ten sets already.

As the bell rang to signal that it was the end of the day, Gabriella stood up and went to her locker, she slowly loaded her bag and went to meet up with Sharpay. The girls were going to go straight after school and the boys were going to come after their basketball practice.

At the house, the three girls say at the breakfast bar, sipping from glasses and chatting away. They had been talking about their favourite actors for some time now and were discussing their favourite male: Dylan O'Brien.

'He is so hot, and funny and incredibly sexy,' Taylor sighed and Gabriella hit her on the arm. 'Back off, you're dating my best friend, besides O'Brien is mine.' Sharpay laughed, 'actually, he is Britt's,' they continued like this for a while until the boys arrived.

'Hey,' Chad said and put his arms around his girlfriend. 'Hi,' everybody greeted them. 'What are you doing?' Zeke narrowed his eyes at Sharpay. 'Nothing, we were just talking,' she smiled and Gabriella held back a laugh.

'Okay, so I have a few movies that we can watch,' Sharpay said a few hours later. 'What are the options?' Zeke asked. 'Well, there is: Stuck in Love, City of Bones, Safe Haven, The Spectacular Now and Crazy, Stupid, Love.' Sharpay looked puzzled as the boys groaned.

'C'mon Shar, that isn't fair, they are all chick flicks,' Troy moaned. 'Watch it Bolton, they are some of my favourite films!' Sharpay threatened and Troy took a step back. 'Besides, City of Bones has loads of fighting in and The Spectacular Now has loads of partying and drinking in it,' Taylor reasoned. ' Fine, then we can watch that one,' Troy sat down and rolled his eyes.

After twenty minutes of the film, Gabriella stood up and went to get a drink, as she went she noticed her reflection in the mirror, he skin looked awful with huge bags under her eyes and her paling expression.

'You look awful,' she turned around and smiled, 'Thanks, Zeke,' he walked with her to the kitchen, 'if it makes you feel any better, he is miserable too,' Gabriella knitted her eyebrows but then realized that they were talking about Troy. 'These bags aren't because of him...mostly.' she shook her head at him. 'Then went have you been walking around like a zombie for over a week?' She pulled a face at him in a booking manner, 'just stress, I guess,' she tried tho shake off his starting eyes and went to pour a glass of orange juice. 'Why are you stressed?' He questioned, 'it doesn't matter,' with that Gabriella rushed back inside and sat down. Avoiding all eye contact with her friends.

After arguing and eventually watching their third film, they decided to go to sleep, as Sharpay had such large bedrooms, they were all sleeping in one room.

They all got changed into their pj's, the girls wore shorts and a t-shirt whilst the boys wore a top and there boxer shorts. and then decided where they would sleep. Of course, Sharpay and Zeke took the bed and Taylor and Chad took the largest mattress available which left Troy and Gabriella to take the remaining two mattresses.

It took a while for them to settle down but eventually they did and soon fell asleep. However, Gabriella was wide awake and her mind was whirling. She had been wondering what her father had been doing in extremely vivid detail and it was making her worried.

She hated the fact that she couldn't stop these pessimistic thoughts from creeping into her mind but didn't know what to do to stop it.

She decided to go downstairs and sit in the kitchen for a while, she poured herself some milk and slowly sipped it. Then, she played on her phone until she heard somebody open the door.

Her head turned towards the door as Troy walked in. 'Hi,' she said, softly. 'Hey, why are you up?' He walked towards her. 'I can't sleep,' she stated simply.

'Why not?' He questioned and she didn't know why but she decided to tell him. He nodded as she talked and afterwards he pulled her into a hug.

'It sucks that you're worried about this because you shouldn't be, you should just be happy,' he didn't let go of her until he had to and when he did a shiver ran through Gabriella's spine.

'Come with me,' he pulled her up the stairs and they stopped in front of one of the guest rooms. 'What are we doing?' She asked him. 'We are going to stay up all night. I saw you shiver downstairs and I thought that it would be a lot warmer here. She smiled at his kindness and tucked herself into the sheets.

'Let's play cards,' he pulled out a packet of cards from one of the draws. They had been playing that for sometime when Gabriella said, 'Troy, can you just hold me?' He nodded and got up to put away the cards and switch off the light. He crawled into the large bed and wrapped his arms around her petite frame.

Eventually, they both fell asleep in each others arms, both hoping the moment would last forever.

* * *

Taylor woke up in Chad's arms and smiled at her boyfriend. He woke up and whispered, 'good morning beautiful, what time is it?' She checked her watch, 'it's nearly nine o'clock.' Taylor got up and saw that Zeke and Sharpay were still asleep and that both Gabriella and Troy were missing. 'Chad, do you know where Troy and Gabriella are?' Chad stood up and shook his head.

'I don't know,' they went to find them and it took them nearly ten minutes to see them sleeping in the guest bedroom, warm in each others arms. Taylor smiled at the picture and turned to Chad, 'this must be the first time she has slept for over a week,' Chad smiled faintly. 'He's good for her, I shouldn't have got mad at them.' Taylor smiled in flight. 'Let's go, she is probably exhausted.'

However, they came back two minutes later with Sharpay and Zeke. They stood there until Zeke said, 'guys, I think that we should give them some privacy,' he dragged away a reluctant Sharpay and went to make breakfast.

By the time they had finished breakfast and gotten ready for the day it was almost eleven o'clock. Taylor and Sharpay couldn't wait any longer for the pair to wake up so they decided to start the mini party without them.

All four of them for ready and dived into the pool, slashing each other and laughing. Zeke had picked up Sharpay and chucked her into the deep end, shortly following behind her.

* * *

Gabriella woke up to the distant sound of screaming and laughing. She was thankful for her dreamless sleep and felt so much better. She smiled at the sleeping body next to her, 'I can feel your eyes on me,' he said and smiled.

She smiled butt didn't know what to say, she wasn't exactly sure as to what they were, but she didn't want to find out because it would only complicate things further. Instead she said, 'Thank you, for helping me sleep,' he smiled down at her and watched her get up.

She walked over to the window where she could see friends playing and having oodles of fun. Shortly, she left the room and went to get ready for the day.

She had put on her black, strapless bikini underneath shorts and a tshirt, she went downstairs and ate cereal, she was shortly joined by Troy, 'So...about last night, what does it mean?' He tried to read her face but couldn't get any signs, 'I don't know, why does it have to mean anything?' Gabriella saw a brief look of hurt in Troy's eyes, 'it doesn't have to but we both know it does.' He began to close the space between them when Gabriella suddenly burst out, 'I don't think we should get back together,' within two seconds of her outburst she was out the door and going to find the others.

* * *

Troy sat motionless in his chair, he felt like he was being stabbed in his heart repeatedly by her words. He knew that is he didn't go out everybody would know that something was wrong school he sucked it up and went outside.

He made out just in time to see Gabriella making her way into the pool with her small black two piece and he muttered to himself, 'You're killing me, Gabriella,' he slowly made his way into the pool, taking off his shirt and putting it on one of the deck chairs.

As soon as he got into the pool he was greeted by his two best friends, ' what happened last night?' Zeke asked and Troy sighed because it looked as if everybody knew what had happened, and that many that they would find out what Gabriella had said. It also meant that Chad would be angry, 'it was nothing, we were just hanging out and feel asleep,' he stated it simply, 'that wasn't nothing,' Zeke smiled whilst Troy tried to read Chad's expression.

'Troy can I just say that I'm sorry for trying to keep you two apart, it was wrong and I was just trying to protect her but you make her happy and I think that you two should date.' Chad smiled at Troy who looked astonished. 'Thanks man, but it doesn't matter because she doesn't want to be with me,' Troy turned his head to the side so he could avoid his best friends so he could avoid their pitying glances.

'I'm sure that's not the case,' Zeke tried to reassure him to no avail. 'Can we just forget about it,' Troy walked or rather swam away from his best friends, he went to Taylor who had just moved away from Gabriella, 'Hi Troy,' she greeted, 'Hi,' he returned. 'Shall we put on some music?' He asked. 'That's a great idea,' they both climbed out of the pool and went to get an iPod to put into the docking station.

Troy inserted his iPod and pressed play on the playlist, the song 'United States of Pop 2013' came on, blasting through the speakers. They then joined the others in the pool again.

* * *

Chad made his way to Gabriella was was trying to hide that she was watching Troy. 'Gabby, can we go for a walk?' She nodded and they walked away. 'Gab, you are my best friend and sister. When you came here I was so happy and that made me really protective, I went too far and I realize that it isn't up to me who you date. I'm not trying to justify what I did because I know that what I did was unfair and I judged Troy when I shouldn't have. I'm sorry.' She smiled, 'Thank you, but I don't know if I can date him. He wasn't willing to fight for us, how do I even know if he cares for me. I can't do this whole relationship thing right now, it would just complicate things further, what work my dad being here...' he frowned at her, 'no offense but that is BS. You can't keep using your dad add an excuse because you're scared. Just admit to yourself that you don't want to trust him because that gives him the power to be in control. You know that Troy cares for you because otherwise he wouldn't have been with you all night. Please just about that you're afraid to get hurt, that's why you said no to him earlier.' He sighed as she nodded. 'You're right,' she realised.

Gabriella ran back to the pool and saw Troy about to get out of the pool, she went to him and grabbed his wet torso, pulling him into a kiss. The kiss sent sparks running through her, it was rough but sweet at the same time, as they pulled away Gabriella smiled, 'Hi.'

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There it is, I am sorry for any mistakes but I wanted it up as soon as possible. Please review to tell me what you think


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